Tuesday Tuneup- #55
From D-Players to Dream Teams
Happy Tuesday everyone!
For those that don’t know me super well, my journey into sales leadership didn’t start with any sort of plan or training. In fact, it started completely by accident.
I was working in a restaurant, was recruited to sell life insurance at 21….. and could follow directions . A year later, I found myself in a new city, building out a sales office from scratch, with zero training and nothing but a good attitude and naïve optimism.
And I failed. Hard.
I couldn’t recruit anyone….. so I couldn’t fire anyone. I ended up managing a group of D-Players, and every day felt like a grind. I didn’t enjoy the work, and eventually, I quit. I left the industry, got a desk job selling solar and vowed to never run a sales team again.
But… as these thing happen…Several years later, I again, basically stumbled into management. At first, I really wasn’t into the idea, but my friends requested I take the role and the company needed a point person for our new division. After a long talk with my wife, I decided to try again — but this time, I was going to do it differently.
This time around, I wasn’t going to run on feelings. I was going to lead with systems, processes, and data. Most importantly, I committed to building a culture around exceptional people, and I wasn’t goin to work with D-Players.
And guess what? It worked.
We went on to achieve $2 billion in sales, landed on the INC. 5000 list seven times, won Owens Corning Dealer of the Year three times, and became the #1 Residential Solar + Storage company in America three years running.
If you’re currently struggling in sales leadership, I’ve been in your shoes — and it sucks. But here’s what I learned and what I’d recommend to anyone in that position:
Focus on building the best opportunity you can for your team. Make your company the place top talent wants to be. You won’t need to micromanage if you’ve built an environment they want to thrive in.
Put systems in place. Don’t make it hard for your salespeople to do their jobs. The right systems will not only make their lives easier but also protect the company.
Set clear standards — for everyone. This includes yourself. Expectations should be crystal clear, and everyone should be held to them. Make it fair and consistent across the board. There should be standard to work with you and work on your team…. If you can’t hold that standard, you can’t be surprised if others don’t as well.
Celebrate outputs and recognize inputs. Don’t just reward the closed deals. Recognize the effort, the calls, the appointments, and the groundwork that leads to success. With that said…. sales is a scoreboard sport. Outputs ultimately are what wins. Don’t get confused trying to manage inputs.
Increase and encourage communication. Keep the lines open and foster an environment where your team can talk to you and each other without fear. For starters, get a team meeting in the books at least once per week and ask for feedback on what’s working and what isn’t.
Treat your team as partners, not minions. Salespeople are not task-doers; they are business partners. Treat them with respect and autonomy. When they give you feedback, try to get some quick wins. When they’re not holding their weight, speak up.
Hire for attitude, actions, and ethics. Skills can be taught. Attitude and integrity cannot. One bad hire, especially when it concerns ethics, can absolutely devastate the team and company. I don’t care how good they sound, if you have concerns on Ethics, don’t hire them…. Ever.
Be genuinely happy for their success. Even when it doesn’t benefit you directly. A rising tide lifts all boats. If you’re team is winning, you’re winning. The best managers build other managers and if that’s happening to you… great job!
Realize you’re not the most important person in their life. They have families, dreams, and lives beyond work. Respect that.
Get out of the way. Once you’ve done all the above — step aside and let them do what you hired them to do. That doesn’t mean you don’t manage them, but assuming you’ve done 1-9 correctly, the path is 99% done.
In short, stop trying to micromanage. Build the best job you can imagine for your team, set clear expectations, support them with systems and processes, and then step back. Trust them.
It took me years of mistakes to figure this out, but when I did, everything changed. I share this not to boast, but to remind you: you can turn things around. You don’t have to grind it out with D-Players or hate the job. Build a place where top performers want to be — and then let them perform.
Nothing is better than when a sales team is humming, everyone is making money and everyone is proud to represent your team.
Until next Tuesday, Happy Selling.
PS- My desire to see you win goes beyond this newsletter. If you’re ever stuck, or just want a second opinion on something, feel free to reach out. I learn so much from all of you and I always look forward to seeing what challenges you’re running into.